Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise belongs to me and I'm not making any money with this.

This is the last one, for now. It's set after Voldemort's downfall, so probably during or after the 7th book. Dedicated to Makrillit who made me write this. Thanks to shadowycat for all the beta-reading.

Thank you everybody for reading, and especially to those who reviewed; I really appreciate it.

How It Ends

Walking down the long dark corridor made him feel rather uncomfortable. Many years had passed since Severus had last set foot in here, and he'd have preferred never to have come back. Hearing his footsteps echoing from the damp stonewalls brought back too many memories he'd have preferred to keep buried till the end of his days.

He hadn't wanted to come.

But Lucius had wanted to see him. He'd been allowed to see one single person, and instead of speaking to his defence counsel, he'd chosen to waste his only chance at contact with the outside world on him.

Severus followed the guard down a dark spiral staircase and along another corridor.

If someone would have asked him why he'd come here, he couldn't have explained it. He didn't know himself. Maybe he felt like he owed that much to Malfoy. Or maybe he was just curious what he could still want from him now.

Probably Lucius just wanted to look him in the eye when telling him what he thought of him. Traitor and turncoat would be the most harmless words he'd have for him. Snape didn't care; he'd been called worse. And somehow he thought that Malfoy actually had a right to use those names.

The guard led him past another prison guard into a small room with two high barred windows. It was completely empty; there wasn't even a table or a chair, just the naked stonewalls. He heard the heavy door fall closed behind them, and then the man guarding it cast a spell on it to lock it. They seemed to be pretty worried about Lucius slipping through their fingers before his trial. Severus wondered briefly whether these were standard security measures or if it might have something to do with him.

"They'll bring him in a minute," the guard muttered and pointed at the second door on the opposite side of the room.

Severus nodded and then they just stood there in silence, waiting. It was so quiet here that he was sure he heard water dripping from the damp walls. He knew you actually could hear it, if you just listened closely enough. He'd sat up too many nights listening to it.

He remembered the smell down here. It was a mixture of the scent of the ocean surrounding the island, the rusty bars of the cell doors and the damp, dirty stone floors. It was enough to make him feel sick.

"Should I get you a chair or something?" the guard muttered, after finally having noticed that this room was really completely empty.

"No, I'll be fine," Snape replied.

The door on the other side of the room slowly opened and a guard stepped inside. A moment later, Lucius Malfoy entered the room, followed by another guard.

Severus kept his eyes on him as he slowly walked into the room but Lucius just stared at the floor. The guards made their prisoner stand a few steps in front of his visitor, then one of them left again, locking the door behind him.

"Would you leave us alone now?" Severus asked in a low voice.

"No, we can't," the guard who'd led Malfoy inside replied. "It would be against the rules."

"Nobody will ever know," Severus said. "So if you don't mind?"

"Don't hold us responsible if he attacks you," the older guard standing next to Snape muttered, then he started walking towards the door and motioned for his younger colleague to follow.

Severus waited until they'd left the room and disappeared down the corridor. There was only one guard left now, standing near the door. Snape gave him an annoyed glare.

The guard hesitated and then reluctantly moved. "Back in ten minutes," he muttered, and then they were finally alone.

Severus turned back to look at Malfoy again, who finally raised his head to meet his eyes. He didn't look good. Although he looked better than he himself had after they'd locked him up in here; probably because the Dementors weren't here anymore. But Lucius definitely wasn't in a state to attack him, even if it hadn't been for the chains around his wrists and his ankles.

"So?" Severus asked. "Why am I here?"

"Yes, I've been wondering about that as well," Lucius whispered. "I didn't think you'd come."

"What do you want from me?" Severus asked impatiently.

"I wanted to see you," Lucius replied. "And I wanted to ask you."

"Ask me what?"

"Ask you why."

Severus snorted and shook his head at him. "You should have spoken to your lawyer instead."

"I don't care about my trial. I know that I'm already a dead man," Malfoy said. "But before I die, the one thing I want to know is why. I want to know why you turned me in."

"Because we played on different sides."

"That's all? After all the years we've known each other?"

"This is not about you and me."

"Of course it is. It was your decision, your choice. You could have let me get away. Easily. If you'd wanted to," Malfoy said. "But you sold me to them. And you sold yourself."

"We all do what we have to do."

"Do we?" Lucius asked, giving him an intent look out of weary eyes. "I've been thinking, you know? I've been wondering about what would have happened if it had been the other way around. If you were the killer, and I was the hero."

"It never would have been the other way around."

"Let's just assume it was; would things be the same now? Would I have turned you in? Or would I have paid your debts for you?"

"You'd have turned me in, in a heartbeat," Severus replied coldly. "Trust me, Lucius – I know you."

"You really seem to think you do," Lucius said, looking straight into his eyes. "I thought we were friends," he added in a low voice.

Severus shook his head; he didn't know what Lucius was aiming at with this little performance and he didn't really want to know. He shouldn't have come here in the first place.

"Severus – I've known you all my life. You were like a brother to me," Malfoy said. "We had our good times, too. Maybe not lately, but we did."

Snape lowered his eyes to the ground. He just couldn't look at him any longer. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he knew that Lucius was right. They'd had their good times.

But times had changed; circumstances had changed. He'd done what he had to do. It had been the right thing to do.

It hadn't even been a difficult decision when he'd been standing face to face with Malfoy. Looking back now, it somehow seemed to him like it should have been.

Lucius hadn't attacked him. He was a good dueller, and he was quick. He could have killed him or at least disarmed him, but he hadn't.

But Severus had attacked him, without even thinking twice.

"Why did you change sides?" Lucius asked. "What did they offer you? Don't tell me it was money."

"You wouldn't understand it," Severus said in a low voice.

"You wanted to do the right thing, didn't you? Clear your conscience?"

"Maybe," Severus muttered.

"Yeah. That suits you." Lucius nodded. "But you're right – your conscience is all you can take to your grave."

They stood there in an awkward silence for a while without looking at each other. Severus heard footsteps and looked up to see that the guards had returned. It seemed about time for him to leave.

"Don't blame yourself for letting me down," Malfoy said. "You might be right; maybe I'd have done the same."

Severus nodded, turned away from him and slowly took a few steps towards the door. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he'd done him wrong by assuming that he'd have done the same. Maybe Lucius Malfoy would have showed more loyalty and integrity if he'd been in the same situation.

One of the guards unlocked the door, and Snape stepped out into the corridor.

"Severus!" Lucius called him back, and he turned around to face him one last time. "Keep your eyes open. Doing the right thing can make you quite a few enemies."

"I know," Snape replied and followed the guard down the corridor without looking back again.

It hadn't been a threat – it was a warning. So Lucius was showing his responsible side once again. When they'd been younger, Lucius had often been the one who'd kept an eye on him. He'd seemed to feel responsible for him, probably because he was a few years older. More than once Lucius had helped him, more than once, he'd protected him. Severus had learned from him and Malfoy had also been the one who'd introduced him to the Dark side.

And part of him had always blamed Lucius for that. Whenever he'd felt too weak to take responsibility for something he'd done, he'd had Lucius to hold responsible. Severus had never said a word to him about it, but secretly he'd often blamed Malfoy for his becoming a Death Eater. And he'd hated him for it.

Now though, he had to admit that it might have been unjustified and unreasonable. Lucius hadn't done this to harm him; maybe he'd even thought that it was best for him to follow in his footsteps. And in the end, nobody had forced him to join the Dark Lord. It had still been his decision.

-end-